Last week was “Championship Week” for high school sports. Not surprisingly, WO experienced a lot of highs and lows.

Girls Soccer:

Girls soccer hit a high with a 4-0 win in the district semifinals against Grandville. Their unstoppable defense and elite passing on offense helped them to advance in the playoffs. “It felt good to win against Grandville since we tied them earlier in the season. My team knew that we had to get this win in order to advance to the finals. We’ve been focused all season on beating Hudsonville since we knew they would make it to the finals. We blew past Grandville so now it’s time to get past Hudsonville too,” Jr. Kayden Panse said.

The team started the season rough partly due to their youth, but they earned a spot in the district finals.

The girls fought hard in the district finals, but they came up short. “Hudsonville is 2nd in the state. They are super powerful and can easily blow past their opponents. The ball stayed on their side almost the whole game, so it was hard to score. We were upset that the season ended so soon,” Panse said.

The team had dreamed of a big upset win against the Eagles, so the 3-0 loss hurt, especially as it ended the careers for seniors.

Boys Baseball:

Boys baseball earned a huge win over 12th ranked Hudsonville on Tuesday in a pre-district game. WO had to play them on their home field, which was a disadvantage, but that didn’t prevent the upset. Carson Morley hit a double that gave West Ottawa three runs. Brody Ruby pitched a complete game throwing over 100 pitches. Hudsonville had beat them three times this season, so WO was a big underdog. “When we won it was a sense of relief. Going into the game the pressure was on them and we just went out and played WO baseball. We got the job done in order to advance,” Jake Bloemers said. This earned them a spot in the semifinals on Saturday against St. Joseph at Zeeland West fields. Calvin Ball pitched a phenomenal game and it came down to the last inning. WO managed to load the bases and score one run, cutting the deficit to one. Ultimately, though, they were unable to push across a tying run. The loss hit hard, as they were so close to advancing to the district finals.

Girls and Boys Track and Field:

Girls and boys track and field state meet was on Saturday, June 3, and like the other sports, there were various highs and lows during the day.

Our boys 4×200 relay including Bryce Buckner, Andrew Spilotro, Ruben Esparza, and Allen Payne placed 8th overall. The 4×100 relay including Andrew Spilotro, Ben Monger, Andrew Goddard, and Ruben Esparza placed 5th overall. Their time was 52.53, breaking the previous record 52.63. “Having two relays go all state was a great feeling overall,” Monger said, “We did our best time yet and having a very close call on top of it made it even better, but overall very happy with it.”

Although the track season had a great run, and lots of highs overall, there were lows as well. Sr. Megan Postma, one of WO’s track stars, unfortunately twisted her ankle during the last leg of the 4x400m relay.  Jr. Ja’mariah Fraizer said, “Megan got it and she looked great she kept the lead and then we got to the second lap and she got passed the finished line. She went around the curve and you just see her hop off the track… we saw Kyle(our coach) run over to her and they got the trainer to her and we knew she was really hurt because Megan would never just leave the track. It was silent while we were all waiting.” It was devastating to see a probable all-state finish end in injury.

Boys Lacrosse:

The horn blows, signaling the end of the West Ottawa and Hudsonville semi-final lacrosse game. Sticks, helmets, and gloves all go flying into the air with screams of pure elation. West Ottawa had come back from a ten point deficit to win in a 15 to 16 game.

Earlier in the season, West Ottawa faced Hudsonville and lost 10 to 15. A huge win that meant West Ottawa would play in the regional championship for the first time in school history. An incredible achievement that marked the highest point in the season for West Ottawa.

In the regional championship West Ottawa faced Mona Shores, who also beat them earlier in the season 9 to 10. At halftime West Ottawa had a 7 to 4 lead, but this wouldn’t last as Mona Shores quickly pulled back and took the lead at the end of the game, 13 to 12 with less than 30 seconds left on the clock. West Ottawa wasn’t able to win the faceoff and score in time, so Mona Shores took home the regional championship.

After a euphoric win against Hudsonville then losing in the final minutes of a nail biting regional championship that marked a new low in the season for West Ottawa. A disappointing end to a geat season filled with highs and lows.